213 Miles From Shea

Started with 30 teams, now we are down to 8 teams and those 8 will begin the elimination march down to 4 today as the ALDS and the NLDS get underway. If you don't have a job, or are not a student, or are just playing hooky, you will get to see a full slate of three games today with one starting at 1:30, another one at 5:00 and finally a nightcap at 8:30. Here's a minipreview for what you could be watching about today:

American League Division Series:

National League Division Series

Just like how the Mets had a good amount of nice surprises this season, they had some disappointments, and some situations that people knew would be bad from the start (looking at you Gary Matthews Jr). Here are some of the perplexing, complicated, frustrating moments of the 2010 Mets season:

Well this is an exciting feeling. I haven't actually felt this way since 2005 and 2006. Remember back then when the Mets said they were so sick of losing they felt the need for a complete regime change. Yeah that was a good time (seriously). It was an interesting off season because it felt like that time right before Spring Training from October through February.

I'm excited again.

After three straight seasons of feeling pretty bad after the Mets season, I feel pretty good today. It feels like a new beginning and I'm really excited to get going, as if last season really didn't matter, it was just a precursor for the next show.

That is where we are now.

The Mets didn't exactly start the next era today, but they definetely ended the current one. By sending off Jerry and Omar, as an organization, we are ready to go in a fresh new direction. Jerry and Omar do deserve credit. Jerry did a great job reversing the 2008 season when he came in, and last season was not his fault, but this team really needs a fresh leader. Omar also did a great job at times and a bad job at times (more on that later this week). He brought in some great pieces in 2005 and 2006, he made some good trades over his regime (most recently the Pagan trade) but he has also made some bad signings (more recently) and some bad trades (Heath Bell).

But now we begin the search for new leaders, and its really exciting.

Lets Go Mets!

For the first year since 2006, I'm going to actually follow the playoffs. For obvious reasons I didn't follow it in 2007 and 2008, it just hurt too much and last year, as soon as the Twins were eliminated, I immediately stop watching. However this year, I'm going to try to stomach it all the way through, mainly because I want more material to write about so the content on this website just isn't about the future manager and the future GM. Anyway the Playoff's start on Weds with the following match-ups:

The following is not my Prediction, but just my Dream:

Now how I think it will actually go down:

Well for a second straight season, the Mets end essentially in wimper. While ending in this way is easier to handle than ending like the Hindenburg in 2007 and 2008, these quiet endings leave a lot to be desired. Essentially we were expecting fireworks each of the last two seasons and at times we really just stalled out due to injuires, bad chemistry (the politest way I could phrase the Oliver Perez situation) and just overall poor team construction.

This season was a wild one in the beginning with long streaks, but with a small collapse in July, the trailing two months have just sotra dragged out. There is a lot to think about, and we have a while to think about things right now. Today let's focus on the postives of 2010. The few players that really came into being and hopefully will plug up holes for the near and far future:

Eventually today's game will be funny in some sort of sick, poetic justice kind of funny.

Like many games this season, today featured basically 0 offense for the Mets. The starting pitching was fantastic, the relief pitching was fantastic but it got a point that the Mets found themselves in the 14th inning with the game tied at 1. At this point, Jerry had to call on Oliver Perez, who hadn't been used since August 27th.

At this point in time, I knew what the story was going to be for this last game article. It was going to be an unreal bizzaro world where the villain on the Mets would get the win, or the villain on the Mets would cement himself in the role he has managed to put himself in this season. First batter he struck out (with a very sarcastic MVP chant to follow), then he managed to fill the bases and then walk in the winning run. HE WALKED IN THE WINNING RUN THAT ENDED 2010.

Seriously, how oddly, disgustingly, disturbingly fitting way for this season to end.

The Mets had many chances to win this game today, and thanks to the offense, the pen had to be perfect. The only pitcher who could possibly make the loss about him and not the bats would be Oliver Perez. By walking in the run, he ended the season in the most awful, but predictable way.

In other words, its like you are at a bar and you get into a sports talk with some random stranger. And you know the guy is an idiot. He sees a player he hates and he tells you this overdramatic way the pitcher is going to screw up the game. You know the pitcher is terrible, but there is no way the pitcher is that terrible that he is going to make this idiot at the bar seem like Nostradamus. The pitcher does allright, and you can confidently tell the idiot that maybe his hate is out of proportion. Normally that would be how today would have gone. Perez was so inept today that he made that obliverated idiot seem like Peter Gammons. Unreal Perez. Unreal.

Well, here's to the offseason. I'm excited for changes, and the inevitable return of baseball in 2011 filled with optimism and hope. Starting tomorrow morning here at 213, I will be going over the highlights and the low-lights of this season in anticipation for Spring Training, because baseball never stops here.